Rancho seeking young volunteers as it begins its fifth year of teen docents

Teen docent Anthony Coleman (far left) has volunteered at the Rancho the last two summers.

Rancho Los Cerritos (RLC) Historic Site is seeking teenage volunteers to begin training for its teen docent program, beginning Thursday, Oct. 14. Teen docents will learn all about California and Rancho history and be exposed to top museum interpretation techniques from expert staff members.
In the first four years of the Rancho’s teen docent program, local high-school students from LB-Poly, Wilson, Millikan, Lakewood, Los Alamitos, CAMS, and Cabrillo have contributed more than 4,000 hours in volunteer service to educational and curatorial programs at the Rancho. The teenagers have helped share and preserve our community’s cultural heritage by giving tours to youth groups, participating in archival projects, overseeing hands-on activities at festivals and public programs, and helping behind the scenes with many other projects.
“The RLC teen docent program is a rewarding service-learning opportunity designed for motivated and enthusiastic students seeking to enhance their knowledge of local history, develop their public-speaking skills, and discover exciting new career options,” said Meighan Maguire, Ph.D., educational programs specialist. “Teens selected for this program benefit in a wide variety of ways as they develop their communication skills, increase their knowledge of Long Beach history, engage the imagination of young visitors, help care for museum artifacts, and interact confidently with peers and adults.”
The teens meet each Thursday afternoon, from Oct. 14 through June 2, 2011, from 4pm to 6pm at Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, 4600 Virginia Rd.
“This remarkable volunteer opportunity allows teens to complete more than double their high school’s graduation requirement of 40 volunteer hours,” said RLC Director Ellen Calomiris. “It is something that looks great on college applications while simultaneously helping teens develop their self-confidence and unique talents. Both of these are noteworthy advantages to today’s high-school students.”
For additional information, or to get application materials for the teen docent program, call (562) 570-1755 or visit the volunteer page at rancholoscerritos.org